1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an identification type instrument assembly detachably connected to the main body of a medical apparatus for use in diagnosis and treatment, an: identification type adapter and an identification type tube connecting an instrument and the main body.
2. Prior Art
In medical or dental care, there is a medical apparatus in which medical treatment is executed by instruments connected to its main body and for supplying electric, power, water and air, or by controlling plural instruments with independent driving sources. Such an instrument includes a medical cutting apparatus such as a motor handpiece, a turbine handpiece, a scaler, an apparatus using ultrasonic wave or light such as a photo polymerization apparatus, a measurement and observation apparatus such as a measuring device of root canal length and an intraoral camera in dental field.
Conventionally according to the dental apparatus, each such instruments have been connected to the main body via an exclusive tube and a driving circuit, a water circuit, and an air circuit required for the connected instrument and which are provided in the main body.
Whereas in such a method, as the kinds of instruments used in the medical apparatus are increased, the number of connections provided for the apparatus and the number of exclusive tubes in the main body are increased. On the other hand, the number of connections can't be increased immoderately because of restriction of the entire apparatus and it hasn't been preferable to increase the number of tubes because of space problems and entwining of each of the tubes.
However, as kinds of new instruments have been increased according to the development of new medical technology, it has become a big problem to be solved how to deal with the increase in the kinds of the instruments and several solutions have been proposed.
For example, an instrument shown in FIG. 17 has been proposed in JP-B-8-115.
Instruments 101a-101d are used by detachably being fitted to a common tube 102 through ends 103a-103c inserted detachably or directly. Connections between the ends 103a-103c and the instrument 101d, and the tube 102 are constructed as multi connection 104 so that plural instruments 101a-101d can be detachably exchanged and used for one common tube 102.
Required connection terminals are provided for connection parts 104a-104d of the ends 103a-103c and the instrument 101d. The connection terminals are located according to a predetermined arrangement, and any connection parts 104a-104d are connected to the connection part 104e of the tube so that air, water, and electric power required for each instrument 101a-101d can be received via the tube 102 from the main body (not shown).
According to such construction, plural kinds of instruments 101a-101d can be detachably exchanged and used for one tube 102 and the problem of the increase of the number of the tubes 102 has been solved.
On the other hand in this method, the main body requires identification of which instrument is fitted to the tube 102 to supply electric power suitable for the fitted instrument to drive the instrument. For this purpose, in this embodiment, resistances 105a-105f having different resistance values are housed in the instruments 101a-101d or in the ends 103b, 103c, and when the instrument is fitted, electric power is supplied form the main body and the fitted instrument is specified by measuring the resistance values of the resistance 105a-105f.
The instrument shown in FIG. 18 is proposed in JP-B-3-34345. FIG. 18(a) shows an outer view of its using condition and FIG. 18(b) shows a detailed view of its connection part.
The instruments 201a-201c are provided with exclusive tubes 202a-202c respectively and these tubes 202a-202c are fitted to the main body 210a detachably and exchangeably. The connection of the tubes 202a-202c and the main body is constructed as a multi joint connection 204.
The multi joint connection 204 is the same as the multi joint type of the connection parts 104a-104d in FIG. 17. The same connection part 204d of multi joint type is provided at four places of the main body 210a and any tubes 202a-202c can be connected to each connection part 204d and can be used by operating a foot controller 210b provided for the main body 210a.
Also according to such construction, instruments more than the number of the connection parts 204d can be detachably and exchangeably used for the limited numbers of the connection parts 204d of the main body 210a so that the problem of space of the main body and increase of the number of tubes can be solved.
On the other hand, similarly in this case, mounted instruments are required to be specified. In this case, plural identification pins 205a are provided for the connection parts 204a-204c of the tubes and correspondingly identification bushes 205b for inserting the identification pins 205aare provided for the connection parts 204d of the main body 210a.
The identification pins 205a provided for the tube are bridge connected in different manners corresponding to the kinds of the instruments and a logic element is connected between the identification bushes 205b of the main body 210a. Therefore, plural logic elements are connected in different manners by connecting different instruments to the connection parts 204d of the main body 210a and fitted instrument is specified by its output signals. JP-B-6-9577 proposes a medical apparatus in which instruments are detachably and exchangeably fitted to the medical apparatus by means of a multi joint connection as shown in. FIG. 19.
The dental apparatus 300 is provided with a main body 350 and a tube 310 introduced from the main body. A multi joint connection 311 is provided for the tip end of the tube 310 and several instruments 301a-301e, such as a micro motor handpiece, an air turbine handpiece, and scaler, are designed to be detachably and exchangeably attached to the connection part 311.
The main body 350 has a control part 330, an identification and command circuit 340 and a switch circuit 341. The control part 330 has an operation power supply circuit 320 for supplying electric power, a water supply circuit 321 for supplying water, a chip air supply circuit 322 for supplying cooling air, and a drive air supply circuit 323 for supplying drive air to an air turbine handpiece and so on corresponding to the instrument. Required power, water, and air are supplied to the instruments 301a-301e fitted to the tube 310 from these circuits 320-323.
A power source 352 is connected to the operation power supply circuit 320, a water source 353 is connected to the water supply circuit 321, and an air source 354 is connected to the chip air supply circuit 322 and the drive air supply circuit 323.
The switch circuit 341 switches the operation power supply circuit 320 and the identification and command circuit 340 to be connected to an electric line 312 connected to the connection part 311 through the tube 310. The identification and command circuit 340 identifies which instrument is connected based on the difference of resistance and impedance of the instruments 301a-301e connected to the connection part 311 by the electric line 312 and gives a selection command for the power, water, and air required for the connected instruments depending on the identification results to the circuits 320-323.
Namely according to the dental apparatus 300, the fitted instrument is specified by measuring its electric characteristic inherent to the instruments 301a-301e without providing separate resistance or wiring for the instruments 301a-301e for identification.
A water line 313 from the water supply circuit 321, a chip air line 314 from the chip air supply circuit 322, and a drive air line 315 from the drive air supply circuit 323 are provided in the tube 310 other than the electric line 312 and reach to the connection part 311. Sensor means 316 for detecting attachment and detachment of the instrument is provided in the connection part 311 of the tube 310.
The dental apparatus 300 is also provided with a drive control switch 351 for supplying power, water, and air to the connected instruments 301a-301e to be driven and the signals of the switch 351 are sent to the control part 330 and the identification and command circuit 340.
According to the dental apparatus 300, when any one of instruments is connected to the connection part 311 of the tube 310, its connection is detected by the sensor means 316, the switch circuit 341 is switched to the identification and command circuit 340, and the circuit 340 identifies the connected instrument and stores its result.
Then, when the drive control switch 351 is operated, the switch circuit 341 is switched to the operation power supply circuit 320, a command is sent for each supply circuit 320-323 based on the identification result of the instruments stored in the identification and command circuit 340, and required power, water, air are supplied.
According to such construction, plural instruments 301a-301e can be attached detachably and exchangeably on one tube 310 and correspondingly required power, water, and air can be supplied so that the same effect as FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 can be achieved.
However in FIG. 17, FIG. 18, and FIG. 19, identification signals aren't actively sent from the instruments. The main body requires measuring means such as the identification and command circuit 340 and the switch circuit 341 of the apparatus 300 in FIG. 19. Additionally, for example, it requires to; a) generate an accurate voltage, b) apply the voltage to the instrument, c) detect the electric current, and d) measure resistance value and specify the instrument, for measuring the resistance of the instrument. Especially c), detect the electric current, is troublesome operation and improvement has been desired.
Further, the resistance and the impedance used as identification means of the instrument in FIG. 17 and FIG. 19 are passive elements and analog elements which can't actively generate signals by themselves, they can't be used when they get wet and its secular change can't be ignored. Therefore, they can't identify precisely so that they can't identify the particular instrument although they can identify the kinds of the instruments when there are plural members of the same kinds of instruments.
On the other hand in case of FIG. 19 in which an instrument is constructed as a bridge medium with different logic elements provided for the main body, the above-mentioned secular change isn't caused, but the numbers of the identification pins 205a and the identification bushes 205b are required to be increased corresponding to the number of the kinds of the instrument. Therefore, there has been a problem such that the connection part 204 is enlarged and complicated.
Further in any of the cases of FIG. 17, FIG. 18, and FIG. 19, instruments are considered as; passive members of the main body and aren't considered as active members which operate actively and independently.